Big Time Secrets
by ImJennaLee
Summary: Kendall is just a normal teen who is a part of the group Big Time Rush. But he's about to discover an old family secret that is going to change his whole life... forever.
1. Chapter One

"Kendall! Quit playing your guitar! I'm trying to sleep here!" James was always being a pain about my guitar. I don't really understand why, though. I was just playing it. Plus, it wasn't even plugged into the amp or one of my electric guitars. Besides, I was coming up with a new song. I was writing it for Jo. It's been three months since she left to film her movie. According to all the guys, Kelly, Katie, and Mom, I was officially depressed. Even Gustavo said he was worried about me. Honestly, you don't hear many concerned words from the lovely Gustavo. At first, I thought he was just messing with me. But, as the weeks went by, it was as if he were treating me like his son or something. And quite frankly, it was kind of creeping me out, but pretty nice of him at the same time.

Logan told me to go to a doctor and see what was wrong with me. Carlos figured I was having Jo withdrawals—which, in a way, I was—and James said the two words I most definitely will always remember:

"**Love sucks."**

The doctor told me and my mom that I was just having separation problems. "It happens to celebrities all the time," he had told my mom. "And Kendall is no different than any other celebrity that walks into my office. Just give him some time. Soon, he'll be back to his old self."

Ha! Right, Pinocchio!

I haven't gotten any better, and being on tour hasn't helped me out any either. But I just fake a smile and continue with my day. But, in reality, I'm beyond depressed. I miss Jo. All I want is to hold her tightly in my arms, see her smile, and kiss her right then and there. I missed her laugh that always made me smile when I was in a bad mood, her long, blonde hair running through my fingers, her beautiful, brown eyes that always made me crave something involving chocolate—I missed it all.

"Sorry, James!" I shouted back through the wall to the other hotel room. I sighed and looked at my notebook. So far, I was blank. I couldn't write anything for her. I mean, I already wrote "Worldwide" for her, but I wanted to write another song for her. I looked at the clock next to me. It read 11:32 PM. I finally gave up and laid my guitar back in its case and locking it up before trudging back over to my bed. I crawl into the covers of the single king-sized bed of my hotel room. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I feel my jungle green eyes flutter close, causing me to fall into a deep sleep.

**/**

_**Thump thump... thump thump... thump thump... thump thump...**_

**My heart pounded against my ribcage as I sprinted through the woods. I could hear the growling and barking of the wild dogs coming after me. I made the mistake of looking back for one moment because the moment I looked back to the front, I felt a tree branch hit me in the face.**

**I fell backwards onto my back, making something hit my head hard. I cried out as my hand flew to my head. I could feel liquid flowing from my head and into my palm. I heard the barking coming closer and closer with each second. I scrambled to my feet and kept running as fast as I could. After what seemed to be hours of running, I suddenly saw the silhouette of a man standing some distance away from me. I stopped dead in my tracks when I noticed he had a bow and arrow in his hand.**

**My heart began beating even faster—which I thought was impossible—with each step I took backwards. I felt a branch under my foot as it tripped me, making fall on my butt in a puddle of mud. I cried out as I tried to stand up on my right ankle. I fell straight back down to the ground. The man began coming slowly towards me. I kept trying to scoot even farther away from the him, but it was no use. I was done for.**

**I finally gave up trying to get away as the man pointed the sharp-looking arrow straight at my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut as he pulled the arrow back on the bow, awaiting my death.**

**/**

I bolted awake in a cold sweat, screaming. My hand flew to my chest as I began to breathe normally again. My hand slowly made its way up to my cheek. I could feel the dried tears that I cried during the dream. I looked around my hotel room. It still looked pretty dark outside. I looked at the clock, only to have it read 2:56 AM.

I groaned as I got out of the bed. I walked out of my hotel room and to the door of the guys' room. I lightly knocked on the door of their room. I could hear one of the guys groan as they came up to the door. The knob turned to open the door, revealing Carlos in his Spider Man pajama bottoms, half-asleep. Once he looked up at me, he groaned in annoyance.

"It's three in the morning, Kendall," he whined. I must've looked terrified because he suddenly had a worried expression on his face.

"You have that dream again?" I quickly nodded. He moved out of the way for me to come in. I slowly walked in to the dark room of the guys' hotel room. Carlos closed the door behind me and came up next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder and led me over to the other bed that wasn't occupied by James nor Logan.

"You can stay here for the night, dude," Carlos whispered, not wanting to wake up the others. I gave him a small smile and nodded my head. I slowly crawled into the covers next to Carlos. I laid on one side while I laid on the other. The guys and I have always shared a room, a bed, clothes, and hockey gear since we were three. We're that close. Carlos and I got comfy.

"Good night, Ken," Carlos mumbled to me.

"Good night, Carlitos," I whispered. My only response was his soft snoring. I faced towards the window, looking at the full moon casting a faint glow over the skyscrapers of New York City.

My eyes fluttered completely shut as I fell into an even deeper sleep.

This time, I didn't wake up nor have another dream.


	2. Chapter Two

"Same dream?" James asked me as we got our drinks at the Italian restaurant we went to for lunch. We decided to go sightseeing today because our concert is tomorrow. So we decided to stop to eat. I honestly didn't feel good because of the dream last night. It's as if every morning after the dream, I feel like hungry and sick at the same time.

"Are you pregnant?" James had asked me seriously after the first time I had that dream. Gustavo, Kelly, and the guys had all asked me that. We kept it from my mom because... well, I think you can understand why.

"Same one every time," I replied to James' question. "But this time, it was different." The guys all looked at me intently.

"How so?" Logan asked. I sighed.

"Well," I began, "the guy that was in front of me? He didn't have a gun this time. He had a bow and arrow." Carlos cocked his eyebrow.

"Archaic much?"

"That's what I thought," I told him. "I'm just trying to figure out why he switched his weapon to an arrow?" And leave it to Carlitos to crack a stupid joke that doesn't even make sense.

"Did you watch Robin Hood before you went to bed?" He began laughing at his own joke. James, Logan, and I just kind of stared at him. We kept staring at him until he sort of calmed down. Then he saw all of us staring at him like he's a total psycho. He quieted immediately.

"Whoa. Tough crowd." Carlos went back to eating his appetizer of cheese sticks. I blinked and focused my attention back to the guys. James was the first to pipe up.

"So, was there anything different about the dream?" Now that I think about it, there was one thing different about it. I wasn't running as fast as the other dreams. It's as if I felt... older. And why did the man use an arrow instead of a gun like the other times? This just wasn't making any sense.

I told the guys what I thought was wrong. Logan looked like he was thinking. This was just weird.

_"Say anything you want! I turn the music up! 'Cause baby, we ain't goin' no-oh-oh-where!"_

Oh crap. My phone!

I grabbed it out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Kelly. Kelly? Why was she calling? I answered her with a simple "Hello?"

"Kendall," I heard Kelly's voice say over the phone, "put me on speaker phone. All the guys need to hear this." I did as she told me to and put the phone in the middle of the table.

"What's up, Kelly?" I asked while trying to keep my voice down in the restaurant.

"We have a huge problem."

"How bad?" Logan asked.

"Really bad."

"What's happened?" Carlos questioned her, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Please don't tell me Gustavo is pissed off again!" James groaned, grabbing his head with his hands.

"No, but Gustavo is worried about you guys."

"Well, that's a first," Carlos said matter-of-factly. I rolled my eyes.

"What's happened?" I asked Kelly.

"We have to cancel the show tomorrow."

"What?" the four of us shrieked at the same time. Suddenly, the whole restaurant went silent. We looked at everyone for a moment before leaving our table to go to the bathroom. I took my phone with me. Once we were in the bathroom and made sure no one was there, I said:

"Ok, Kelly. Sorry about that. Now why are you guys canceling the show?"

"Seriously!" James exclaimed. "What about our fans?"

"That's the thing," Kelly explained. "Three girls were found dead in the stadium." Carlos gulped.

"D-dead?" he stammered.

"More like murdered, actually." Carlos fainted. Oh great.

"Awesome," I said sarcastically. "Now Carlos fainted!"

"Well, for now, we think the person—or thing—that killed these girls are coming after you."

"Yep," Logan said. "We're screwed."

"We are not screwed," I reassured them. James lifted Carlos to his feet and shook him awake. Carlos gently shook James off, signaling he was ok.

"Listen, guys," Kelly sighed, "just get back to the hotel before this all gets out. If the press gets a hold of this whole story, things are just going to get even worse."

"Can we stop by the stadium?" James asked. Carlos violently shook his head. Carlos was never good with blood—or dead bodies for that matter. I sighed.

"Sorry guys," Kelly apologized. "Police won't let anyone in or out. They're investigating everyone at the moment. I'd suggest you guys just go back to the hotel for now. Gustavo and I are not leaving for awhile."

"How did those girls die?" James asked. Kelly paused.

"They were attacked. Looks like by a human or—"

"Or...?" I begged for her to continue on.

"Or an animal." Ok, freaky much? An animal? She must've been pulling our chains.

"How could an animal get into a stadium?" Carlos asked.

"The police think they might've been dumped there on purpose. We don't know by who yet, but they're working on it. Right now, you guys just need to get back to your hotel rooms now before hell breaks loose. Ok?"

"Got it, Kelly," we said altogether.

"Alright. Just call me or Gustavo when you guys get to the hotel."

"Ok," Logan said. I hung up the phone and put it back in my pocket. We all headed back out to our seats in the restaurant. We sat at our table in silence for a minute. Three innocent girls were murdered? That's just freaky. What's even worse is that their bodies were tossed in the stadium. Was somebody really after us? And they were attacked? Attacked how? There's a bunch of different attacks: muggings, kidnappings, riots, rape—hate to say it, but it's true—even animal attacks. Wait a minute... Kelly had said something over the phone that was a bit peculiar. What did she say?

_"How did those girls die?" James had asked. Kelly paused._

_"They were attacked. Looks like by a human or—" I begged for her to continue on._

_"Or an animal."_

"Well," Logan said clapping his hands, "I say we eat really fast and go—"

"Here's the plan, guys," I interrupted Logan before he could go on. All the guys turned anxiously to me. I smiled my mastermind smile. James widened his eyes, along with his smile that stretched to his ears. That always meant he was in. Carlos' eyes widened, too, but his jaw dropped and formed into an open-gaped smile. Logan sunk in his seat, knowing he was out-voted. It was official.

Kendall Knight had a plan.


	3. Chapter Three

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Logan asked nervously as we walked through the back halls of the stadium. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. He asked me that question about a million times since we drove up to the stadium we were supposed to be performing at tomorrow. I looked back at him.

"Of course this is not a good idea," I answered. "Why do you think we're doing it?" Logan's eyes became as big as tennis balls at what I said. He knew what we were doing could get us into a heap amount of trouble. If he knew we were going to make everyone mad and get into trouble with Kelly and Gustavo, then why did he even come? Then I remembered.

He gets paranoid being alone.

_Sigh._

The back halls of the stadium were a tad creepy. No joke; they really were. I mean, the only lights were bright green EXIT signs at the end of each hall. There were a few corners that had fluorescent light bulbs hanging from the ceiling, but that was it. I got out my iPhone and went to the flashlight app. James did the same thing. We lit up the hallway ahead of us.

"I don't like this," Carlos whimpered behind me. "I don't like this one bit. This was such a bad idea, Kendall." He had his head buried between my shoulder blades, shaking in fear. Carlos was really scared, and that doesn't happen often. For a little guy, he hardly ever got scared. But this time, even I was getting a little nervous.

"Maybe we should all head back to the hotel?" James suggested. To be honest, I was beginning to consider getting the hell out of here just as much as the guys. I turned around to face them. My flashlight app showed Carlos standing right in between James and Logan. He looked terrified. James and Logan did too. I didn't know if I did or not. I sure hope not. I had to be strong for the guys.

"Listen," I said reassuringly, "we shouldn't be far from where the bodies are. We'll just get a peek of them, get out, and go back to the hotel."

"What if some psycho comes out and tries to come and kill us?" James asked nervously. "I mean, I'm too pretty to die. Carlos is too happy to die. Logan is too smart to die. And you're... umm..." James kept trying to think of a reason as to why I can't die. I rolled my eyes.

"We are not gonna die, James. And besides, Logan would be able to outsmart the killer; Carlos is too fast for the killer to catch. And you most likely poison his lungs with Cuda hairspray." James stuck his tongue out at me and began looking around for another way out.

"What about you?" Logan asked. I raised my eyebrow at him. "I mean, how would you stay alive if someone tried to kill you?" I shrugged.

"I'd fight. Need I say more?" Logan shrugged and shook his head. Suddenly, I heard James scream.

And it wasn't his girly scream.

We all faced the direction he was looking at. I looked at James and pointed my lit-up phone at him. He was as white as a sheet with a terrified look on his face.

"What?" I asked. "What is it?" He pointed a shaky finger at a figure underneath the next EXIT sign. The figure looked like he was holding something in his right hand. I focused more on it, trying to figure it out. The figure placed near his face. What the—?

_RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG!_

I fell to my knees and dropped my phone. My hands cupped themselves around my ears. I was screaming as loud as I possibly could. The pain of the ringing in my ears was killing me. What was going on? Why was I feeling this way? What did that person do to me? My heart was pounding hard against my chest, just like in the nightmares. And I was feeling like my head was going to explode at any moment.

"Kendall!" I heard Carlos cry out. "What's wrong?"

"Make it stop!" I shrieked. "Make it stop now!"

"Stop what?" James asked.

"That stupid ringing! I think my ear drums are about to bust!" I screamed again, the pain in my ears only getting worse. I managed to open my eyes a little to see the figure standing in front of us. His arm came down to his side. He put the thing he had in his hand in his pocket. Relief instantly filled my ears and my head. I picked up my phone before Logan and James helped me up to my feet.

"You okay?" Logan asked. I slowly nodded and gently pushed the guys off of me, signaling I was ok. I looked back over at the figure, only to notice it holding a gun in its hand now. I widened my eyes. It pointed the gun at us. Usually, I have a plan to get out of situations like this. Here's the plan for this one.

"RUN!"

I grabbed James' wrist as he grabbed Logan's while Logan grabbed Carlos', and we sprinted down the hallway, screaming our lungs out. We turned to the left to the next hallway and down the corridor.

"Is he gone, Carlos?" James shouted over the sound of pounding feet. After a moment, Carlos replied:

"Yeah! He's gone!" I turned my head and made sure he wasn't following us. He wasn't. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kendall!" Logan screamed. "Look out!"

"Huh?" I turned back around, only to run into a door. But the funny thing was that the door was slightly ajar. So, the guys and I all flew through the door. I, of course, was on the bottom, then Logan on top of me, then James on top of Logan and me, then, finally Carlos on top of all of us. I gotta say this once: those guys weigh a ton. You would think Logan wouldn't, but you never seem to count the muscle. He's strong for a little guy.

"Ow...," I moaned in pain.

"That," Logan choked out, "was the worst plan ever." I groaned. He was right.

That was the worst plan ever.

"What are you guys doing here?" I heard a familiar voice shriek. I looked up to see Kelly standing in the spotlight above us. She did not look happy to see us. I grinned up at her.

"Hey, Kelly!" I said slowly. "Did you do something different with your hair?" Kelly was trying to breathe slowly in and out, attempting to control her anger.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOGS DOING HERE?"

_**Crap. We're dead.**_

Gustavo was right behind Kelly, power-walking towards us. I instantly felt the weight of the guys on top of me fall away. I took a deep breath before I felt the guys help me up to my feet. I dusted off my shirt before looking at Gustavo's little, beady black eyes looking at us. His face was already turning red with anger. I had a feeling Gustavo was going to try and rip my and the guys' heads off.

"I THOUGHT KELLY TOLD YOU TO STAY AT THE HOTEL AND NOT LEAVE! EMPHASIS ON NOT!" I rolled my eyes.

"Since when do we ever listen to you or Kelly?" I reminded him. His face went from red to blue then to purple. Uh-oh. All the guys shifted behind me in a line. Great.

"I HAVE PUT UP WITH YOU DOGS FOR THE LAST TIME!" Gustavo screamed. "YOU ARE FI—"

"Mr. Rocque!" shouted a man coming up to us. Apparently, we were on the stage. Huh. Well, now we know where we are. And some big creepy guy can't come to kill us. The man that was calling for Gustavo climbed up on the stage. He was wearing jeans, a button-up white shirt, coat, and a pair of biker boots. He was about the same height as James with pepper-colored hair and bright green eyes. For some odd reason, he looked vaguely familiar. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew he did.

Gustavo sighed dramatically and said:

"Yes, Detective…?"

"Grayson," the man finished for him. "Detective Grayson."

"Right, well, what do you want?"

"You might want to come and see what we found." He led the way off the side of the stage, Gustavo, Kelly, James, Logan, Carlos (hiding behind me), and I following closely behind him. He came down the aisles of the floor section of the arena. He stopped in front of one of the rows that happened to be covered in blood. Once we saw the bodies, though, I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Whoa," Logan commented, "talk about a bloodbath." He was right. It _was_ a bloodbath. One girl was wearing a Big Time Rush t-shirt and some blue jean shorts, but it was all soaked in blood. Her long, blonde hair was covered in blood, just like her clothes, but her t-shirt was kind of sliced up. I shook my head in sympathy. The other blonde girl had a shirt with a picture of James on it while wearing some skinny jeans and sandals. I could feel my heart aching in pity. But then the third girl looked a little bit younger than the rest with darker hair and paler skin. She was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of me and some regular jeans and sneakers. All of the girls' clothes were soaked in blood and sliced up everywhere.

_**Those poor girls.**_

"_Yes, those poor girls. All so young. And beautiful too."_

I looked around to see who that was, but everyone seemed to be talking amongst themselves about the first dead girl.

"**The poor girls."**

"**Why would anyone want to do this?"**

"**I wonder what their parents must be going through?"**

Hold up! I did not just hear any of that. The guys weren't even talking loud and I was a few people away from them! Wait, were they even talking?

"_No, Kendall, they weren't talking. You can hear their thoughts. Strange gift, yes, but it's very useful against your enemies. You might have another gift, but I'm not fully sure yet."_

"Who said that?" I accidentally said aloud. Everyone stared at me funny. Great; now they might think I'm going insane.

"_Read their minds to figure out if they think you're truly crazy." _Well, only one way to find out, I guess. I kind of focused on the guys to see what they were thinking. Let's start with Logan.

"**I didn't say anything. I don't think. But what is going on with him? He's been acting so weird since this morning. Maybe he's just paranoid about the dream and the concert. Totally understandable."**

_**Ok, so, Logan didn't think I was too crazy. That was good. Now, time for James.**_

"**Ever since Jo left, Kendall's been acting really weird. Maybe he's still depressed about her leaving. But those stupid nightmares have been really screwing with his brain. I hope he's okay."**

_**At least James doesn't think I'm a psycho. Carlitos: your turn.**_

"**I'm craving a corndog."**

_**Of course.**_

"_There's your answer, Kendall. Now, a piece of advice: Don't talk to me aloud. Think your question or whatever you want to say to me." _Might as well take a shot.

"_**Who are you? And what is wrong with me?"**_

"_I'm someone you need to trust. And there is nothing wrong with you. You are gifted."_

"_**Really? I'm gifted? Are you sure about that? How **_**am **_**I gifted? Because I feel like I'm cursed!"**_

"_I can't really tell you how you're gifted. You have to figure that part out for yourself. Just be careful. And watch out for your friends and family."_

"_**That won't be so hard to do. I already watch out for them anyways."**_

"_Just watch your back. That's the best thing you can do right now."_

"_**Watch my back for what?"**_

The voice didn't respond back. Ugh. So much for being normal. Not only am I a pop star, I can read people's minds, and I have a voice in my head that tells me what to do.

Being normal is out of the question.

"Kendall?"

I looked over to Kelly who was eyeing me curiously.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Are you ok?" she asked me. I nodded my head.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"Nothing. But I'd suggest you get Carlitos out of here before he gets sick on the body." I nodded in understanding. As I walked over to Carlos, I breathed in through my nose. Yeah... big mistake.

"Dude! What is that smell?" I shouted. I could smell garlic, onions, and... blood? Is that even possible? Wait a minute... why do I smell something rotten—besides the poor dead girl I was standing next to. I sniffed around for that smell, only to find myself running head-first into Detective Grayson. Oops.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed. "I didn't look where I was going!"

"It's alright," Grayson assured me with a smile. I flashed him back an awkward smile before scurrying off back to the guys. Something about him was kind of off.

"You okay, Kendall?" Logan asked me worriedly. I was still looking over at Detective Grayson. Once he looked over back at me, I could feel my head hurting a little bit. Why am I getting a headache?

"_Don't forget to watch your back. Trouble is about to head your way."_

"Yeah," I informed Logan. "I'm fine."

Grayson looked away and went back to questioning people. Just when the guys and I were about to leave, we were stopped by a few police officers. They began asking us questions about the girls before letting us go.

We took a cab back to the hotel. I opened the door to my hotel room and put my wallet on the nightstand and threw my black leather jacket on a chair in the mini-kitchen. I got my bottle of painkillers out of my suitcase and filled up a glass of water. I popped two pills in my mouth before downing them with water. I put the pills back in my bag before collapsing on the couch. I turned on the TV, only to have it on the news. The headline?

**BIG TIME RUSH CONCERT CANCELLED!**

"Rumors are going around saying that Big Time Rush's biggest concert of their already steadily rising career was suddenly cancelled due to what is said to be a murder in Madison Square Garden. It was said that three teenage girls—sixteen-year-old Rebecca Fagan, seventeen-year-old Carrie Blake, and fifteen-year-old Nicole Holland—were murdered then dropped off at MSG as a supposed "warning" to Big Time Rush. So far, fans are not returning their tickets because the show has been moved to an unknown date until the police can find the killer of these three girls."

Suddenly, three girls popped up on the screen. Two were blonde, one with blue eyes, the other with green, and the dark-haired girl with brownish-golden eyes. The blue-eyed blonde was Carrie Blake; the green-eyed blonde was Rebecca Fagan; and finally, the dark-haired girl was Nicole Holland. All three girls were absolutely stunning.

"Gustavo Rocque, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, Logan Mitchell, and Kendall Knight all send their deepest condolences to the families of the murdered girls. And they pray the families will be okay. So far, no suspects or leads have been found in the case. Police have been investigating since early this morning, when the bodies were found by a maintenance worker coming to get everything ready for the band's concert at five this morning. This concert was supposed to be the kickoff of their first headlined tour of their career. But now all the dates have been pushed back to who-knows-how-far-back, but police are working hard to find the murderer of these three girls."

I turned off the TV and put the remote back on the coffee table. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. These pills were not kicking in fast enough. Maybe I was just over thinking things at the moment. I mean, I'm too busy thinking about these girls.

_**What kind of monster would want to kill them?**_

I shook my head before kicking off my shoes and going over to the bed. I plopped myself on the comfortable bed. I crawled underneath the covers and faced away from the window that let the light shine through. Maybe I could sleep off this headache? I yawned and closed my eyes, feeling sleep overcome my body. I was too exhausted to even think. All I needed was sleep. And that's what I was going to get.

Or so I thought.

**/**

_**Thump thump… thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…**_

**I kept running as fast as I could through the woods. I had to. But this time, I felt a bit slower than usual—like I'm older or something. Suddenly, I heard something—or, in this case, someone—crying. I stopped dead in my tracks. What in the world was that? I realized it was coming from my jacket. I had my arms wrapped around something I kept in my jacket and was holding up against my chest. I looked inside my jacket. I froze with fear.**

**I was holding a baby.**

**I heard the barking dogs coming at me. I kept the baby up against my chest and kept running. I couldn't let this baby get hurt. I began running through the woods again, trying to get as far away from the dogs as I could. It felt like I was running for miles when I began to feel my feet getting weak. I couldn't run out of energy now! I had to help this baby! I had to get it out of the woods! But if I kept for one more mile, my feet would most likely fall off. I stopped in front of a tree and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. I looked down at the baby I had in my arms. **

**It was still crying.**

**I tried rocking it like I always did with Katie when she was a baby. It kept crying. I had to shut it up somehow or else those dogs would find me and I'd be dead. I had to think of another way. That was when I thought of it. **

**I decided to sing to it.**

"_**When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me.**_

_**Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.**_

_**And in my hour of darkness,**_

_**She is standing right in front of me.**_

_**Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.**_

_**Let it be… let it be. Let it be… let it be.**_

_**Whispering words of wisdom, let it be."**_

**The baby began to calm down a little. I guess it likes The Beatles, just like me. I giggled a little as the baby opened its eyes. It had bright jungle green eyes just like mine. I also noticed it smiling and giggling at me. My smile suddenly faded when I noticed the baby's smile. It had my smile. It also had my nose, ears, and everything! Oh no.**

**The baby was me.**

"**How sweet."**

**I looked up to see the same silhouette I see in all of my dreams, holding a crossbow in one hand. My heartbeat quickened as I moved little me closer to me. I kept him close to my chest, trying to also keep him warm. The silhouette held out his other hand.**

"**Hand me the child, Knight," the silhouette ordered. I held little me even tighter.**

"**Never," I spat. The silhouette held up his crossbow at me. I doubled over the baby.**

"**I said," the man growled, "hand over the child."**

"**Why? You're only going to kill him," I heard myself say. Wait a minute. That wasn't my voice. I wanted to look around to see where that voice came from, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the silhouette.**

"**I will kill you to get that child."**

"**Then kill me." The man chuckled as he came down closer to me. He stood over me in a matter of seconds. The baby was still giggling a little bit. I kept humming "Let It Be" to him to keep him from crying. He didn't need to cry. The man chuckled while saying:**

"**You are a fool. You always were."**

"**Then a fool I'll die to be protecting my son." Wait! I didn't mean to say that! I meant—wait. **_**I don't think this is me he's talking to, **_**I thought. **_**But it couldn't be. He's dead. I know he is.**_

**Suddenly, the man shot an arrow through my shoulder, attaching me to the tree. I screamed as loud and as long as I could. The pain was beyond excruciating. I squeezed tightly shut from all of the pain. But I could feel little me being taken from my arms. He was crying again. I managed to open my eyes just a little bit to see the man taking little me away.**

"**No," I managed to choke out. "Please." The man put away his crossbow and got out a pistol from his pocket. He pointed it at my head. I looked at little me crying again. I could feel tears streaming down my face. I looked back at the man.**

"**Any last words? Knight?" It took me a moment to choke up enough oxygen to give him my answer.**

"**Since I won't be the one killing you, my son sure as hell will be."**

**The man chuckled and pulled back the hammer. I closed my eyes.**

"**Goodbye, Knight."**

_**CRACK!**_

**/**

I awoke in a cold sweat, tears pouring down my face. These nightmares were definitely getting out of hand. But this time, I didn't think this was a nightmare. I think this was a memory. And not just any memory.

This had to be the memory of my father's death.


	4. Chapter Four

"A memory?"

"Not just any memory: it was my actual father's death."

Katie looked at me with pure shock. Apparently, the guys and I got to go back to the Palm Woods since the FBI got called into the investigation. This could get worse than we thought. So now all of our tour dates are pushed back to until the investigation is closed. So now, I am sitting in the kitchen with Katie, talking to her about the memory. I'm not calling it a dream because I know it wasn't a dream. No child dreams about their parent's death in the woods when they were babies and didn't remember anything. I wasn't going crazy.

That dream was real.

Katie took a deep breath before saying, "What makes you think it's a memory instead of a dream?"

"In a way," I replied matter-of-factly, "it was the same exact dream as all the rest. And—" I trailed off after that. If I told her the whole dream, she would think I was crazy for sure.

"And...?" Katie begged for me to egg on. I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration. What was I supposed to do? Tell her the truth?

_That would be the best option. At least you would have someone who would know._

_**Grr. That stupid voice! I've had it stuck in my head since the day our tour got cancelled! Why won't it go away?**_

_Admit it: you love having me around._

_**Shut up before I stick my headphones in my ears really hard!**_

_Oh please. That won't do anything to me. It'll hurt you, though._

_**How's about I blast my eardrums with the loudest Metallica song possible?**_

Voice got quiet after that. Hehe. But Voice was right: I had to tell someone.

And it seemed the best option was Katie.

I sighed.

"And," I hesitated, "I was holding a baby. But not just any baby. That baby was me."

"It could've been another baby!" Katie argued.

"But it wasn't!" I protested, raising my voice a little. "I know it was me because that baby had my eyes, smile, nose, ears, and hair color! There is not another person in this world that has my nose or smile! It was me!"

"How could you look at yourself as a baby?"

"I was looking through Dad's eyes."

"How did you know that was you as Dad?"

"It wasn't my voice that was talking. It was Dad's."

"How did you know it was Dad's voice?"

"It was the same voice that sang me to sleep when I was a baby." Katie thought for a moment. Hmm... I wonder if I could push into her mind and see what she's thinking...?

_That wouldn't be such a good idea._

**Sigh. **_**Voice. Stay out of my head.**_

_I could if I wanted to, but I'm supposed to be making sure you don't cause too much trouble._

_**Well, you haven't done a good job at it.**_

And it was true. Voice hadn't done a good job at trying to keep me out of trouble. The guys and I all pulled the ultimate prank on Bitters.

The Spaghetti Prank.

See, we served Bitters spaghetti as an "apology" for destroying the lobby with our annual prank war (again), but what he didn't know was the fact that there were laxatives in the spaghetti sauce. He was in the bathroom the whole night, which led to James and Carlitos throwing a huge party.

And that was just yesterday.

Today, the guys were all laying out by the pool, and Mom was out shopping and getting dinner. And Katie and I, as you've already noticed, in 2J.

_Don't read her mind, Kendall. Trust me. That would be one of the worst mistakes of your life._

_**How?**_

Voice didn't answer. Great. Thanks. Just so that I won't have a lecture about reading people's minds again, I just didn't. I waited patiently for Katie to ask me another question.

"What were his supposed last words?" she finally asked. I thought back for a moment. What were his last words? Then they came back to me.

**"Since I'm one who won't be killing you, then my son sure as hell will be."**

His last words.

In all honesty, they scared me. What did he mean I was supposed to kill the guy? Of course, a part of me wanted to because I grew up without a father, and that man took him from me and my family. I never thought Dad was murdered. Mom told me it was a car crash. Now that I know the truth, if that man that killed my father is still out there, he's going to pay.

But I'm not a killer.

"He said, 'Since I'm the one that's not killing you, then my son sure as hell will be.'"

Katie's eyes widened. She blinked. I was waiting for her to tell me that I needed to see a shrink and just to shut up. But the question she asked me shocked me the most.

"Do you think your birth dad was murdered?"

I didn't really know how to answer that one. But in the memory, I knew it was real. He died because a man shot him in the heart with a gun. How could that not be murder? But then again, Mom told me he up and left after I was born. It's pretty obvious now she was lying. But I just let it go and decided not to talk about it for eleven years.

Of course, now I'm seventeen, about to make it to the big leagues in the music industry, and living in LA, practically an adult now. It was time for me to get the actual truth from her now, just for good measure. I could've been wrong, and Katie would have been right—that it was all a dream.

"I don't know," I sighed. I ran my fingers through my blond hair. This was so frustrating! _**Voice! Help me out here!**_

_No comment._

_**Voice, I'm not in the mood. Help me out here. Is this dream real? Or is my brain playing tricks on me?**_

_Why should I answer to you? You said you would blast your eardrums with the loudest Metallica song possible. Am I right, or am I right?_

_**Voice, I'm sorry. I'm just not taking this news well. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Forgive me?**_

_Hmm... I'll think about it..._

_**Voice!**_

_Ok ok! Jeez... you need to chill._

_**Voice, just tell me if that dream really happened or not.**_

_I wish I could, but you need to figure it out on your own._

_**Why?**_

_For reasons even I cannot even begin to explain. You will never understand until you figure it out for yourself._

_**But I want to know!**_

_I know you do. But this… I cannot explain it to you. It is too difficult for even me to understand. You have to do this on your own. I am sorry, Kendall, but that's the way it is._

_**Just tell me! I can handle it! Please?**_

No answer.

_**I really hate you, Voice.**_

"Kendall?" I looked down at Katie, who was looking at me like I'd lost my mind. "Did you _not _just hear me?"

"What" was all I said in response. I didn't even know what she was talking about. Katie rolled her eyes.

"I said you need to ask Mom." _**What?**_

"No way! That's definitely out of the question!"

"Why? I'm sure she wants to know if her oldest child is having some type of memory-dream-thingy of his birth father's death."

"She'll think I've gone completely insane! I practically _am _insane!"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am! I can smell, hear, and see things I shouldn't! I can hear the thoughts of everyone around me! Even when they're talking in a whisper, I can hear everything they're saying! I can smell blood! A normal human being _can't _smell blood! But I can! I'm turning into a freak! I don't know what's going on with me! All I know is that ever since Jo left, I've been having the same nightmare every night, but now it's shifted into a possible memory of my father's death; _and _I'm growing more impatient, angry, anxious, frustrated, and depressed than I've ever been! I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm going completely insane!" I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath. I really needed to calm down before my explosion towards Katie got even worse. I hated yelling at her. I hated yelling at anyone, but especially Katie. I sat down on the edge of the orange couch, taking deep breaths. I really needed to control my new anger problems.

Why was all of a sudden so angry and upset all the time? I hate this more than anything, but what am I supposed to do? I can't just go to Mom, Kelly, Gustavo, or even the guys about this. They might think I've gone insane. Suddenly, I felt someone gently rubbing my back. I jumped a little but looked to see it was Katie. She came over and sat down next to me. I pulled her on for a tight hug. She instantly hugged me back.

"It's going to be ok, Kendall," she assured me. I knew she meant well, but I really didn't know if I could believe her or not. But I just let her keep trying to comfort me. It was working some, but not as well as I wished it would. The dream kept lingering in my mind. I had to figure out what was going on and why I was having these dreams. And Voice wasn't helping me any.

_I've helped some._

_**Not that much. You won't even tell me where these dreams are coming from! That, and you won't tell me what the dream really means! But I know it's real. I know it happened. I can feel it in my bones.**_

_What makes you so sure? Hmm?_

_**Because when I follow my gut, I'm always right. And my gut is telling me that Dad was murdered, and he died protecting me.**_

Voice was quiet after that. It knew I was right. I _was_ right. I knew I was. There were so many questions running through my head, though. But one question kept nagging me over and over again.

What did he die protecting me from?

_**/**_

I decided to go down by the pool with the guys a little while later. Katie was hanging out with Kyle somewhere. I brought a recent sports magazine with me to occupy my time. James and Carlos were playing catch in the pool while Logan was reading some book. I was in the middle of reading an article about Mike Fisher and his stats with the Senators when I suddenly heard Logan say:

"When did you get down here?" I looked over at Logie, who was eyeing me curiously. I shrugged and looked at my phone that was in my pocket.

"About ten minutes ago," I replied to Logan's question. "Why?"

"I just didn't notice you there." He shrugged and went back to his book. I looked at the cover of his book. The title of it said _The Wolfman. _Was he reading… a comic book?

"Why are you reading that?" I asked. Logan hardly ever read books about mythical creatures or anything that didn't have to do with science. Logan tilted his head a little until he noticed I was talking about the book.

"What's so wrong with this?" he said pointing at the cover.

"Nothing. It's just that—you hardly ever read comic books." Logan just smiled and kept reading. "What's it about?"

"It's about this guy who turns into a werewolf whenever the full moon comes about," Logan explains. "And he tries to find a cure to get rid of the werewolf curse, but he keeps killing the people he cares about."

"How does he turn into a werewolf?"

"He had been bitten by another werewolf while trying to hunt it. And he was given the curse." That was really weird. He was just given the curse of being a werewolf.

"What kind of stuff happens with the curse?" Logan tilted his head a little.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"How do people know if someone is a werewolf?" Logan had to think for a moment. Then he came up with several symptoms.

"Increasing anger, violent intentions, vicious behavior, insomnia, anxiety, sudden increased strength like the strength of someone on steroids—basically everything that has to do with anger and strength."

Increasing anger? Insomnia? Anxiety? Weird…

"But werewolves aren't even real," Logan added.

_Werewolves aren't even real, my butt!_

_**Voice! Shut up!**_

_What? What did I say?_

_**We'll talk about this—err, think—no… ah, forget it.**_

_It's hard when you have a voice talking to you in your head. Don't worry. I hate being in people's heads, especially yours. Yours is just strange. Just saying._

_**Thanks, Voice. You're of real help.**_

_Anytime, young one._

I shook my head a little before focusing on Logan talking to me again. We talked for a little while longer before he went back to his werewolf comic book and I to my hockey magazine. But I just couldn't focus on the magazine. I decided to get up and go take a walk around the Palm Woods Park. Besides, I needed to stay as far away from Bitters as possible. And maybe I could ask Voice some questions?

Once I arrived at the park, I saw a lot of couples being all mushy-gushy, looking like they would last forever. That's how Jo and I looked when we were together. People would tell us to get a room all the time. It was annoying, but it was funny too. Now, I just miss those moments where Jo and I were together. I miss her more than anything. I just wished for her to come back.

I sat down under the big oak tree in the middle of the park. As I sat there, I felt completely relaxed. For the first time since Jo left, I felt perfectly fine. I decided to lie down and take a little cat nap. I put my hands under my head and closed my eyes, falling asleep.

_**/**_

_**Thump thump… thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…**_

**Where was I going? There was literally nothing around me—nothing but black. This was weird. I felt like I was going to trip over my own foot or run into something. This wasn't like the other dreams; nothing like them. I wasn't in the woods.**

**So, if I wasn't there… then where am I?**

"**Hurry and get him before he gets away!"**

"**Stop him now!"**

"**Get him! I want him!"**

**Suddenly, a bright flash appeared. It almost blinded me, but I kept running. Once the flash died down, I saw…**

_**You're kidding me, right?**_

**I was looking at a village. Not some poor village, but an old-time village, like the ones from the 1700s. It was absolutely weird. I slowed down a little to take a look around.**

"**How did I end up in a village like this?" I mumbled to myself. Once I heard the screaming of the village people, I sped back up and sprinted with my life. I was **_**not **_**going to be burned at the stake. I ran as hard and as fast as I could. I couldn't stop; I wasn't going to stop. I ran for what seemed like forever until I ran by a house with a shadow. It looked isolated from the rest of the town. I stopped and looked behind me. Those crazy villagers were still after me. I had to hide. Now.**

**I ran over to the house and opened the door, flying inside. I turned around and leaned against the door, taking a few deep breaths.**

"**Who are you?"**

**I jumped and turned around to face a girl around my age with long, curly brown hair and big brown eyes. She was absolutely beautiful.**

"**Who are you?" she demanded again. Her voice sounded so familiar. For a second there, I thought she was—no. It can't be. There's no way.**

"**Jo?"**

_**/**_

**This isn't right. Why did I even come back? I knew I shouldn't have come back. Then again, maybe this isn't so bad—no. This **_**is**_** bad. I need to leave. Soon.**

My eyes shot open. I sat up under the tree, only to realize it was dark out. Wow, I was asleep for awhile. I rubbed my eyes and looked around to see whose thought I heard. (Yes, I have been fully convinced I can read people's minds now. What else can I think, that I'm losing my mind? You know what, forget I even asked that question.) I couldn't see anyone around. I stood up to walk around and look. A small breeze came by, and I could smell the sweetest perfume I had ever smelt. I followed the scent, looking around as to where it could be coming from. I looked straight ahead and noticed a beautiful blonde girl pacing on the sidewalk in front of the entrance to the Palm Woods. I tilted my head a little to the side. I could sense that the girl was stressed, worried even. I was about to walk over to her when she pulled out her phone and began dialing a number. I jumped behind a bush and kept myself hidden.

I lifted my head a little above the bush at eye level. She kept dialing number after number. I wonder who she was calling?

_You really shouldn't be worried about that._ I rolled my eyes.

_**Really, Voice? Really?**_

_Dude, I'm just saying. You shouldn't be worried about that. You have better things to worry about._

_**Oh really? And what should I be worried about?**_

_That van that is about to pull up and kidnap that girl._

"Hey! Let me go! Let me go! Help! Somebody help me!"

I suddenly focused back on the girl, but a black van was blocking the way.

_Well, what are you waiting for? Go save the girl! _There was no stopping me. I hopped up on my feet, jumped over the bush, and sprinted over to save the girl as fast as I could. Once I came over to the side of the van, I could see two men dressed fully in black dragging the girl into the van. The girl was bound and gagged in the men's arms. I saw red and felt anger boiling in my blood.

"Hey!" I screamed—well, more like growled. "Get away from her!" I grabbed one guy and dragged him off the girl. I ran him headfirst into the van, making him fall to the ground. The other guy came up behind me and grabbed my neck. I grabbed his hands and threw him over my back. Once I saw that both of them were down, I ran over to the girl, who was crying in fear. I pulled the gag off of her and began untying her wrists.

"Are you okay?" I asked her quickly. I could see her nod once. Once I was done untying her wrists, I helped untie her ankles. I helped her up to her feet. I was about to ask her who she was when she pointed at something behind me and said:

"Look out!" I turned around to see one of the guys I had thrown down to the ground coming up behind me. My hand flew out in front of me and grabbed his neck. My grip kept tightening on him. I was strangling him.

I was killing him.

I let go of him and let him fall to the ground. The man got up and tried to come towards me again, but I put myself in a protective stance over the frightened girl. The man suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around and helped up his partner.

"Let's get outta here!" one of them shouted. They jumped into their van, started in the ignition, and sped off, the ear-splitting sound of screeching tires lingering in the atmosphere.

Once the van turned the corner off the street, I began feeling woozy. My vision was blurring up, and I was seeing black spots around me. The feeling in my legs was giving out. I immediately found myself falling into something, completely drained of all my energy. I floated to the concrete of the sidewalk right in front of the Palm Woods.

"Are you okay?" I heard a faint female voice say. I looked up and tried to focus on her, but I couldn't make out her face. "Kendall?" I could sense my vision getting a little clearer. And the girl's face was one I didn't think I would see ever again.

"Jo?" I managed to choke out. Then, I blacked out.

**A/N: I know this took me FOREVER, but I was grounded. But now I'm not, so, I managed to get it finished!(: I hope y'all liked it! Review please!**

**Much love,**

**Jenna Lee3**


	5. Chapter Five

Voices—that's all I can hear—voices. The beeping of a heart monitor was faintly heard in the background of mumbling voices. It was pretty obvious I was in the hospital. For one thing, there was the heart monitor; two, I passed out. I could hear the guys and Katie talking amongst themselves, Kelly on the phone with someone, Mom talking to someone (probably a nurse), and Gustavo talking to someone on the phone.

"Logie? When is he supposed to wake up?"

"I don't know, Carlos. It should be soon, though."

"I just need him to wake up now."

"We all do, Katie. But don't worry. He'll wake up soon enough."

"I hope so." I could hear Katie sniffling a little. A few moments later, I heard James say:

"Don't worry about him, Katie. This is Kendall here. He'll be fine. He always is."

"But I just want my brother to wake up!" Katie sobbed. She sounded like she was mumbling. James was probably hugging her. I could hear James softly shushing her, trying to calm her down. Poor Katie. She sounded really torn up.

I tried to focus on Mom and the person she was talking to.

"This is all my fault."

"Jo, this is not your fault."

"Yes it is! He shouldn't have been out there! I knew it was a bad idea coming back! He's in the hospital in a hospital bed, unconscious, because of me! He shouldn't even be in here! I'm the reason for all of this! If I had just stayed away from here...!" I could hear Jo sobbing quietly at this point. She hardly ever cried. And she blamed herself for me being in here. I had to open my eyes and tell her it wasn't her fault. None of this was.

_You're right. None of this was. But of course she's going to blame herself._

_**Why?**_

_Because she still loves you._

I could feel my eyes fluttering. I kept telling my brain to tell my eyes to wake up. I needed to see Jo. I let out a little groan and squirmed a little to signal Mom, Jo, and whoever else was in the room that I was awake. I wasn't really in pain; I just needed to signal everyone I was awake.

"Jo, honey," I could hear Kelly say, "don't beat yourself up over this. You said he just passed out. It's not like he got ran over by a car or fell down a flight of stairs. And you caught him before he could hit his head on the concrete. He's going to be fine."

"But he's still not awake!"

"He will be soon, honey," I heard Mom assure Jo. "Don't worry. Kendall's strong. And I know my own son. He wouldn't want you blaming yourself for this." Jo sounded like she was beginning to calm down a little. Poor Jo. She shouldn't feel bad for me being in the hospital. It wasn't her fault.

"It's not your fault," I heard myself say softly. My eyes slowly opened to see Mom, Jo, Kelly, Gustavo, Logan, James, Carlos, and Katie all shooting their eyes at me. All of them looked shocked and happy to see me awake.

"Hey, buddy," Logan said smiling. I smiled back.

"Hey, man," I said hoarsely. I pulled him in for a man-hug. Once I let go, I did the same for all the guys. Katie came up and gave me a huge hug. I wrapped my arms around her, hugged her back, and kissed her forehead. She sniffled a little bit before letting go a few moments later. Kelly came over next and gave me a gentle hug. Mom walked over once Kelly let go and hugged me. I hugged her back and squeezed her. She squeezed me back, signaling she didn't mind the hug. She kissed my forehead before letting her arms fall to her sides and going towards Katie. A slim, short, Asian woman in scrubs walked in with a male doctor holding a clipboard in one hand, a coffee in another with a smile on his face.

"Well," the doctor began, "it's good to see you're awake, Kendall. Everyone in here was worried about you." I looked over at Gustavo for a moment. He was still on the phone with whoever he was talking to. He locked eyes with me for a split second before he tore away from my gaze. Hmm...

_**Voice, can I read his mind?**_

_If you want to, then go right on ahead._

I took one glance at Gustavo, and then his thoughts came flooding in.

**He shouldn't have been in danger. He should've been safe. Now there's no place safe for him anymore. He just doesn't need to know the truth. I have to keep that promise to his father. I owe him that much.**

He knew my father?

_**Voice, what is he talking about?**_

_Obviously you._

_**No, I'm being serious. What does he mean by I'm not safe anymore?**_

_You aren't safe, Kendall. You haven't been since Jo left. Even though she's back, you're still not safe._

_**How does Jo play into all of this?**_

_You'll find out. She'll tell you. Now, any more questions before I go back to my nap that you so rudely interrupted?_

_**How did Gustavo know my father?**_

_That's the one question I couldn't answer even if I did know the answer to it. I'm sorry, Kendall._

_**It's ok, Voice. I'll figure it out for myself. You can go back to your nap now. **_It was hard telling a voice in my head that it could go back to sleep.

_It's not that weird._

_**Yes it is, Voice!**_

_It actually isn't. I'm not the only voice who does that._

_**Ok, then. Who else does it?**_

_The voice in Leonardo DiCaprio's head._

_**Really, Voice?**_

_What?_

_**Never mind. I'll let you go back to sleep now.**_

_Good night._

"Kendall?"

I instantly snapped out of my mind after I heard Logan calling me out of my thoughts. He looked at me with worry.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Are you okay? You seem to be… zoning out a lot."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired." Logan nodded in understanding. Suddenly, I could hear someone's stomach growling. I looked over at Carlos to look at him grabbing his stomach. "Maybe you guys should go get something to eat? Some of you seem a little hungry." Carlos' face turned a little red. Mom looked a little uneasy.

"Honey," she began, "I don't think you need to be alone right now, and—"

"It's fine," I assured her. "I just need to talk to someone alone." I looked over at Jo who seemed to be hiding from everyone. I nodded once at her then looked back at my mom. She still seemed to be making up her mind. "Mom, I told you: it's fine. You shouldn't worry." After a few moments, she sighed.

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth in defeat. "Guys, do you need to go get something—" She turned around to see all the guys out of the room. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then." I chuckled a little before she came up to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead and walked out of the room. Katie came up to me and gave me another hug before skipping out of the room behind Mom. Kelly waved good-bye, Gustavo following closely behind. He closed the door behind him before shutting the door behind him, leaving me and Jo to be the only ones in the room.

Jo looked at me, her brown eyes big and scared. It broke my heart to see her like that. I slowly sat up and scooted over to make some room for her to lie with me. Once I made enough room for her, I patted the spit next to me, signaling her to come over and lie with me. Jo looked at me with uncertainty in her eyes. I pulled a puppy face on her, trying to get her to come over. When that didn't work, I decided to cheat.

I pushed myself into Jo's mind.

**Why does he want me to go over there with him? I figured he would hate me for putting him in here. I thought he hated me for leaving him. I really thought he did. Maybe he doesn't? Maybe I should go over and talk to him? Ugh! Jo, quit over-thinking things! He's just asking you to go sit with him. What's the harm in that?**

I pulled myself out of her mind as soon as she got up and walked over to me. I smiled as soon as she lay down next to me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her cold, fragile body closer to mine. She shuddered a little in my arms. I held her tightly against me and kissed her forehead.

"I've missed you so much," I whispered to her. Jo looked up at me with her bloodshot, puffy, honey-brown eyes and snuggled closer to me.

"I've missed you, too, Kendall," she said quietly back. "How've you been?"

"Ok, I guess."

"I heard about the tour getting cancelled. That's gotta suck." I shrugged.

"It's ok. All that means is more time spent at the Palm Woods with the guys and more pranks to pull on Bitters. So, either way, it's a win/win situation for me." Jo smiled and giggled a bit. I missed her smile and her laugh. Going on four months without her was the worst time of my life. I was a mess without her around. She literally kept me from destroying everything around me, causing so much trouble to kick me and the guys out of the Palm Woods, and falling apart—emotionally. If it wasn't for her being there, all of the guys would be in graves right now. Sometimes I would have to go talk to her by the Palm Woods pool in the middle of the night, just so everyone wouldn't ask what was going on. Sometimes, I would just need her there for me to hold her, for her to hold me, sometimes just to cry and get everything out. You would think I would do that with the guys, but I don't. I'm their leader. They can't see me cry. But Jo—Jo was a different story. I trusted her with all of my deepest secrets and my worst fears. The best part about telling her?

I don't ever have to be afraid to tell her anything. She was the only one I could trust.

"I remember that prank war we had last year," Jo suddenly said while laughing a little harder. "Remember when Bitters was trying to attack you with the jam?" I started laughing too.

"I do! And you got that nasty jam stain all over your shirt!"

"I know! And that was my favorite shirt too!" Soon, we were both laughing as hard as we could, talking about all of our crazy adventures at the Palm Woods. I missed it when she would get involved in our shenanigans. She would always distract everybody while we pulled everything off. If it wasn't for her—or Camille and Katie—half of our pranks or plans wouldn't have been successful. She saved my butt so many times from Bitters, I lost count. I owed her a lot for everything she helped me with.

Now I need to start paying her back.

"What you thinking about?" Jo asked me. I looked out the hospital window at the skyscrapers of Los Angeles and sighed. Honestly, I was thinking about her. I was thinking about the time when our relationship was put on the line because of Jett telling everyone they were together when we clearly were. But we made it. I thought about our last kiss in the airport as she left for New Zealand. I never wanted to go through that again. That was the worst time of my life. I went through so much hell. I was still going through it up until I saw her again—which would be now.

I looked back down at Jo and smiled before going in for a kiss. As soon as my lips touched hers, I could feel a fire burn between us. It was that same fire in our first kiss, last kiss, and all the kisses in-between. Her kisses gave me that feeling that everything was right in the world. She ran her fingers through my hair and smiled through the kiss, just like she always did. This was what life was worth living for: being with the person you love most and never leaving their side. Because that special someone only comes once in a lifetime. The greatest things in your life come once in a lifetime. And Jo was definitely the greatest thing to happen to me.

"You're my once in a lifetime," I whispered. Jo smiled in the kiss and pulled away, looking up at me. We locked eyes before she rested her head on my chest a moment later. We stayed silent after that. We didn't need to speak; we just needed each other. That was all there was to it.

**A/N: I am so so so so so so so sorry I haven't updated! I have been trying to update as fast as I could, but I just couldn't! I hate writers' block. :( But I am back! Hope you liked it (even though it was a lame fill-in)! Remember to rate and review! Thanks! Much love((:**


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